LAPLACE — The West Nile virus was not detected during follow-up trapping and testing this week in LaPlace after an initial positive mosquito case led to increased spraying locally, officials said.

Authorities said a positive mosquito was trapped south of Airline Highway on the west side of Old LaPlace.

Mosquito Control Services Chief Biologist Sam Stines said Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry does not allow his office to release the street the infected mosquito was discovered on. A release from St. John the Baptist Parish Government also did not indicate the location of the infected mosquito.

Parish leaders said residents in the immediate area within a one- to five-city block radius of the sampling site received information regarding the heightened potential for encephalitis infection in the neighborhood, along with recommendations for personal protection and yard sanitation.

Stines, who contracts for parish spraying through St. John Mosquito Control, said response this week was coordinated and thorough.

“We go door-to-door in that area handing out pamphlets to educate anyone we can to take precautions, to wear long sleeves, to wear a DEET product or EPA approved product to repel mosquitoes,” Stines said. “Then, we followed up with more traps and those traps were tested (Wednesday) in our own laboratory. They all came back negative. In the next week, we will retest out there to make sure everything is good.”

Stines said now is the time to watch out for mosquito-borne diseases, adding West Nile is just one of the diseases posing a threat to the area, and it’s not even the most deadly one.

Despite the threat of worst-case results, which are exceptionally rare, Stines stresses that local residents can dramatically reduce mosquito threats by checking their front and back yards once a week.

“The hardest thing for us to do is get in your backyard and suppress mosquitoes,” he said. “It takes about a week to go from an egg to an adult, so every Sunday residents should spend just five minutes walking through their yard and dumping water. A mosquito can breed in as little water as there is in a bottle cap.”

The Illinois Department of Public Safety says the tiny mosquito has killed more people than all the wars in history and more than many of the most ferocious animals.

West Nile virus, malaria and encephalitis are just a few of the diseases or viruses transmitted by mosquitoes. Most mosquitoes attack birds and mammals, although some will feed on the blood of amphibians and reptiles. Only the female bites, as she needs a blood meal for egg laying. All males and the females of only a few species do not bite, feeding rather on nectar and plant juices.

DEET is highly effective at repelling a wide range of bugs. Various health organizations, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, concluded “the normal use of DEET does not present a health concern to the general population.”

A recent USDA study compared four synthetic mosquito repellents and eight natural ones and found Repel Lemon Eucalyptus was the most effective repellent.